St. John’s Basketball programs to play without spectators until further notice

Sydney Denham, Sports Editor • November 8, 2020

With just 20 days until the 2020-21 basketball season tips-off, St. John’s Athletics announced in a web release on Thursday, Nov. 5 that there will be no fans in attendance for the beginning of the season. This decision was made in compliance with the New York City and New York State guidelines on mass gatherings during the pandemic.

For Red Storm fans who have already purchased season tickets and made contributions to the University’s Red White Club, an organization for donors that supports SJU athletics, the Athletics Department has allotted three options for reimbursement.

The first is that they donate such payments to the Red White Club as a tax-deductible gift. The second option for these fans is to rollover their tickets from impacted games into the 2021-22 season, with the same seat numbers. As a final option, fans can request a full refund for their payments.

“While St. John’s Athletics remains steadfast in its commitment to Red Storm student-athletes,” the web release said, “the inevitable reduction in revenue streams will undoubtedly present a challenge to provide the necessary resources to compete at the highest levels on and off the field of play. Making a donation will help address these financial hurdles, as well as earn valuable Red White Club priority points.”

The Athletic Department is “hopeful” that if there is an improvement in public health, spectators will be permitted at a later date in the season. If this occurs, there will be a priority to those who already purchased season tickets and decided to either donate their payments or rollover the seats to next year’s season.

To keep Carnesecca from remaining completely empty during games, the Athletics Department is giving fans an opportunity to buy cutouts of themselves to be placed throughout the arena. The price range is from $59 to $85, and those who purchase a cutout will also receive an autograph from Men’s Basketball Head Coach Mike Anderson. Current SJU students can purchase a cutout for just $10.

Red Storm fans can still take advantage of the streaming services (see our last basketball update) offered by the University in order to stay up-to-date with the Red Storm. Until then, the basketball programs are preparing for their respective seasons and hope to put their best work out on the court, with or without spectators physically present.

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About the Contributor

Sydney Denham, Sports Editor

Sydney is a junior English major with a minor in journalism. She first joined the Torch during her freshman year and started as a Staff Writer, then became Assistant Sports Editor. This year, she is serving as the Sports Editor and hopes to recruit more writers for the Sports section who are eager to learn about writing recaps and athlete feature stories. Sydney is excited to design and publish this year's issue of Courtside in collaboration with the other editors. Outside of the Torch, Sydney likes to do photography. You can reach Sydney at [email protected].